Three is the magic number!

Last month was a busy month in Mangochi with three new arrivals in the same week.

Saving Grace

Grace Chisala was referred to us after being completely abandoned. She is just over one year old and was being cared for by someone in her village.

As you can imagine it is difficult to look after a young child and sadly the person caring for Grace found that she was unable to continue to provide for her.

Our outreach team had to travel 145km to pick her up as the Social Welfare Department that referred her didn’t have the transport available.

The Open Arms pick up trucks are essential for us to be able to reach these children, who are often in need of immediate help. Without them Grace would have to wait for transport to become available or her carer would have to make the journey.

Grace is in good health though and her ongoing growth and early development will be strengthen by the care of Open Arms. She has already made a strong bond with her carers and is enjoying socialising with the other children in her new surroundings. We look forward to watching her little character develop as she settles.

Iness and Iven

Just before Grace arrived Iness and Iven were also referred to us. Sadly, their mother had died earlier in the month and they needed help.

They come from a village very close to the Mangochi home and were living with their grandmother who took on their care. This incredible lady also looks after their two older siblings and another two orphaned children so understandably, the young twins were too much for her to manage.

On arrival they were acutely malnourished weighing around 7kgs each at 10 months old. This is 2kg underweight, which is huge for babies of their age and can become dangerous if not monitored closely. The care and nutritious food that they will get with Open Arms will support their early development though, allowing them to grow and recover their strength before returning home when they are ready.

Thank you!

It costs us around £2,500 to care for a baby in our homes for a year. This covers food, medicines, staff and the costs of running the homes. We can only provide this service thanks to your support and without it many children would die. Children like Grace, Iness and Iven are able to grow up healthy with the love of a family because of our supporters and for that we say thank you.